Chinese debts harming Africa

 

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Chinese neocolonialism in Africa

 StrategyPage has a long article about Chinese investments etc. in Asia and Africa.

they invest in projects but bring their own people to do the work (so no local jobs). And afterward, the Chinese stay to take over the economy. They mainly work with corrupt governments who will take their bribes to do so.

and then the locals protest.

Hmm... sounds familiar. they are doing a lot of this in the Philippines. heck, even the last buybust drug raid in our are resulted in the death of a "chinese national" who was running the drug gang.

Because of this, China is increasingly seen as a supporter of evil governments and that has generated widespread African hostility towards all things Chinese.

 

This has led to anti-Chinese riots in some countries and a general animosity towards the Chinese at the grass roots level. Thus when these countries go through their next rebellion, Chinese are likely to be a popular target and a major loser if the rebels win.

 

These problems exist, to a lesser extent, in the Middle East and Asia. China has been at this for since 2002. This really kicked into high gear when China declared 2006 was officially "The Year of Africa." China went all out to make a favorable impression on African governments and increase Chinese economic and diplomatic activity in Africa that year. To that end, about a billion dollars-worth of debts, of African nations to the Chinese government, were forgiven. The year before, Chinese commercial and government organizations invested over $13 billion in Africa. This was less than one percent of China's GDP but by African standards, it was a huge investment.

 

However, there was some blowback. The Chinese were mainly after raw materials, especially oil. A lot of that $13 billion was bribes for local officials.

well, duh. 

As usual, the average African was getting screwed by these deals. China is also flooding African markets with inexpensive goods. This and imported Chinese workers are hurting local businesses and causing unrest among African business owners and workers. As a result, it's become common for opposition parties in Africa to accuse China of "neo-colonial exploitation." The accusation fits, and the Chinese will pay for it down the road, as will peacekeepers brought in to help clean up the mess.

 

China and Africa

A snip from a longer article on Strategypage about China's Sudan dilemma.

The savvy 21st century Chinese oil and ore buyers, taking a trick from Mao Zedong's Cold War appeal to Third World nations, portray themselves as being different from 19th century European imperialists who colonized Africa.

Beijing's empire builders are hands-off fellows, and their doctrine is "non-interference." Local politics aren't their problem. They are pure customers.

Oh, Beijing will help the sovereigns and independents build infrastructure to mine and ship the resources, though (to ensure quality of course) they want Chinese companies to do the work, not locals. That's the gist of a $10 billion deal China cut with the Democratic Republic of Congo, to the chagrin of many Congolese workers. China will also sell the sovereigns weapons, to deal with rebels who threaten resources, even if the sovereigns are genocidal thugs.

The Effects of Colonialism haunt Africa

from the African Executive

he argues many of the psychological problems of dependency/colonialism stand in the way of true development

In many African nations, there is the notion that "foreign or white is better." Many Africans will bend over backwards to help a foreigner, but find it hard to even grant audience to a fellow African who might have a new idea. At first glance this phenomenon might seem innocent and harmless. But in societies where communal values formed the foundations of their existence, the current contempt and disregard for contributions from fellow Africans holds grave significance. As the Pulitzer Award winner, writer and historian Will Durant noted, "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within." The "divide and conquer" tactics used by the colonists during the "Scramble for Africa" in the 1800s is one that literally played with the minds of its victim countries and has left them confused ever since.

The level of contempt that many Africans hold for their own people has increased to the point where it is even labeled the 'pull him down' syndrome. Countries like Ghana are known for being very hospitable and welcoming to foreigners. But does this hospitality translate onto the local scene? Does it make Ghana's tourism industry one of the most dynamic? Does it in any way improve the development prospects of the nation? The answer to all these questions is no. Although development opportunities in African nations have increased over the course of time, the struggles continue because of this inferiority complex. African governments would rather grant contracts and make risky concessions to foreigners than give a citizen the opportunity to prove him or herself. The main argument given for this reluctance is the relative lack of experience on the part of the citizen. Even if this might be the case, how are individuals expected to garner any experience in their respective fields without being given a first chance?

There are many other scenarios in which this inferiority complex has played out. In 1998 the then-U.S. President Bill Clinton visited Ghana for seven hours. He was scheduled to spend his visit in the capital city, Accra. I vividly remember the hurried efforts on the part of the government to ensure that Accra was clean and renovated enough to receive its distinguished visitor. This brought to question not only the priorities of the government, but also the view of Ghanaians as undeserving or unimportant enough to live in a clean environment. Instead, they had to wait for a foreigner to visit in order to enjoy a couple of hours of cleanliness....

As the famous Bob Marley says in his Uprising album track "Redemption Song," the emancipation of a people and nation starts with breaking the chains of mental slavery.

By Jemila Abdulai

This article was also published in the Mount Holyoke News